Please take the time to read Steve Downes response (2/3 of the way down the post) to my The Experts vs The World post where he makes a few excellent points clarifying his initial remarks on the latest Economist debate.

The Democratic Experts

Downes makes an excellent distinction between becoming an expert and being appointed one. Expert bloggers uniquely achieve their standing without being annointed by one party or another. They achieve their standing by being read and by being quoted in other blogs.

Sorry, I have been neglecting Olli Answers lately. My nose has been in the code lately and I am really excited about some of the changes coming up that will make Ask Olli a lot more useful and easy to use. However, I find it difficult writing and coding at the same time. When I get sick of one, I can’t bring myself to do the other, so the writing has suffered.

Last night, I read Stephen Downe’s reaction to the next Economist debate, about the impact of social networks on education, and was surprised by his rather vitriolic response.

The Economist yesterday opened the second in their series of education debates. The proposition this time around is about universities competing for students:

Governments and universities everywhere should compete to attract qualified students, regardless of nationality or residence.

Early voting is strongly in favour of the proposition by about 2 to 1.

The pro-side mostly argues that international students pay more than other students resulting in a financial windfall for the institution, and the mixing of cultures is beneficial to international and local students.